The CFPB is the primary regulator of consumer financial products and services in the US, but other state and federal regulators also have authority to enforce some federal consumer financial protection laws. The CFPB is now...more
The CFPB recently updated its examination manual to, in Director Chopra’s words, “combat discriminatory practices across the board in consumer finance.” Under the CFPB’s revised manual, any discriminatory conduct that the...more
7/22/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Banking Examinations ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
ECOA ,
Examination Manual ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Marketing ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Take-aways From Director Chopra’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress -
On April 6, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its semi-annual report to Congress required under Dodd-Frank....more
7/22/2022
/ Big Tech ,
Comment Period ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Cards ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
FinTech ,
Housing Market ,
Information Reports ,
Open Banking ,
Racial Bias ,
Sandbox ,
Transaction Fees
Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has authority to require reports and conduct examinations with respect to large...more
5/9/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Authority
On November 23, 2021, the OCC, Federal Reserve Board, and FDIC issued a joint final rule that requires banking organizations and their service providers to report certain computer-security incidents. A computer-security...more
On December 14, 2021, Wheels Financial, LLC (d/b/a LoanMart) entered into a consent order with the California Department of Financial Products and Innovation (DFPI) in which the company agreed to end its lending partnership...more
1/26/2022
/ Banks ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Access to Credit ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Title Lender ,
Title Loans ,
True Lender ,
UDAAP
On October 21, 2021, the CFPB sent orders to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal, and Square requiring them to provide information about their current and planned payments products, practices, and data collection and...more
1/26/2022
/ Advertising ,
Apple ,
Behavioral Advertising ,
Big Tech ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Facebook ,
FinTech ,
Google ,
Payment Systems ,
PayPal ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda
The “buy now pay later” (BNPL) market continued its trend of increasing valuations and consumer uptake through the end of 2021. BNPL’s popularity is largely due to its simple repayment terms and low cost relative to...more
In line with the CFPB’s and FTC’s recent scrutiny of big tech companies, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICO Act) on October 18, 2021. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen....more
The explosive growth of “buy now pay later” (BNPL) products is a staple of the fintech news cycle. The model, which gained popularity with point-of-sale financing options offered by straight play providers such as Affirm,...more
10/25/2021
/ Amazon ,
Apple ,
Big Tech ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
MasterCard ,
Point of Sale Terminals ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Visa Inc
Federal banking regulators have again demonstrated their focus on bank oversight and management of risk from third party relationships through a series of guidance and proposed guidance published in the third quarter of 2021....more
10/25/2021
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Community Banks ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinTech ,
Internal Controls ,
OCC ,
Partnerships ,
Popular ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk
Industrial bank charters continue to gain momentum with approval of Square’s charter; payments and tech companies have become interested in industrial banks lately since the FDIC started approving them after a moratorium from...more
On March 9, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit heard oral argument on the question of whether the OCC can legally issue national bank charters to non-depository financial technology (fintech) firms. The case is...more
3/16/2021
/ Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
CSBS ,
Dismissals ,
FinTech ,
Fintech Charter ,
National Bank Act ,
Nonbank Firms ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Oral Argument ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Standing
The Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve announced in August 2019 that it will develop a new 24x7x365 real time gross settlement (RTGS) system called FedNow. The new system will allow near-instant settlement of...more
On March 17, 2020, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved Square Financial Services, Inc.’s (Square Financial) and Nelnet Bank’s applications for deposit insurance, subject to several conditions. The FDIC...more
On October 23, the District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) issued a final judgment setting aside in relevant part the regulation on which the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) based its...more